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The ARRL Contest Update
Published by the American Radio Relay League
********************************************
September 26, 2012
Editor: Ward Silver, N0AX
==> IN THIS ISSUE
- Digging Digital - CQ World Wide RTTY
- Big State Bashes - California and Texas QSO Parties
- The Webinars - They're Back!
- Wavemaking at Stanford
- Late Call from Lithuania
- You've Got Plaque!
- Tabletop Exercises
- Maker Machine Madness
- Lowering the Broom
NEW HF OPERATORS - THINGS TO DO
Here comes a pair of major state QSO parties - California and Texas.
The Texas QSO Party is this coming weekend and
the California QSO Party is the following
weekend. These are great contests for new HF operators in North America
- both are domestic (meaning modest stations do quite well) and there
is enough activity to keep the weekend interesting without intense
crowding. You may also hear some Chinese stations mixed in with the
Californians - this is the weekend for the Worked All Provinces of
China contest - the first-ever Chinese DX
contest!
BULLETINS
There are no bulletins in this issue.
BUSTED QSOS
K3EST's has been a member of the WRTC Sanctioning Committee for 16
years, not 26. Your editor is losing his ability to subtract,
apparently. (Thanks, Bob W6RGG)
The QST edition of Contest Corral for September should have listed the
CQ WW RTTY Contest and Texas QSO Party as starting on Sept 29th. The
online PDF version is correct.
(Thanks, Dick W0RAA)
CONTEST SUMMARY
Complete information for all contests follows the Conversation section
Sep 29-30
- SKCC Straight Key Sprint-- (Sep 26)
- 902 MHz Fall VHF Sprint
- CQ WW RTTY Contest
- Texas QSO Party
Oct 6-7
- ARRL EME Contest
- ARS Spartan Sprint--CW (Oct 2)
- OK1WC Memorial Contest (Oct 2)
- 432 MHz Fall VHF Sprint (Oct 3)
- SNS and NS Weekly Sprints--CW, Digital (Oct 5)
- DX/NA YLRL Anniversary Party (Oct 5)
- PSK Rumble - The Fall Classic
- Worked All Provinces of China
- EPC Russia DX Contest--Digital
- Oceania DX Phone Contest
- Worked All Britain HF Contest--Phone
- California QSO Party
- EU Autumn Sprint--Phone
- RSGB 21/28 MHz Contest
==> NEWS, PRESS RELEASES, AND GENERAL INTEREST
The World Wide Radio Operator Foundation
(WWROF) has assumed sponsorship of the popular PVRC Webinar series
beginning with "A Look at the Upcoming PA & CA QSO Parties". PA QSO
Party chairman Mike Coslo N3LI and CA QSO Party representative John
Miller K6MM will provide an overview of their upcoming QSO parties. The
webinar will be presented on Monday, Oct 1 at 9 PM EDT and registration
is free as always.
(Thanks, Ken K4ZW)
This year's package of Sweepstakes information (rules, records,
writeups, forms, etc) is now available online at the ARRL Sweepstakes
web page . This is a great
introduction and reference to the oldest of the domestic contests, held
on the first and third weekends of November. (Thanks, Sean KX9X)
All 58 California counties should on the air during the upcoming
California QSO Party as shown in this activity map/cheat sheet
. There are also some new
club contesting rules designed to (1)
encourage county expeditions and mobile operations in the rarer
California counties and (2) to clarify how proportional points are
awarded for club totals when a club member participates in a multi
operation. In addition, Ontario (VE3, not the southern California city)
remains a single multiplier for CQP. The partition of Ontario into four
different RAC sections does not affect CQP scoring. (Thanks, Bob N6TV
and Alan K6SRZ)
The web site for the Stew Perry Top Band Distance Challenge
has been successfully moved to its new host,
just in time for the Oct 20/21 Stew Perry Warmup. (Thanks, Tree N6TR)
Also on October 20-21, Jamboree on the Air
(JOTA) is getting closer. The Scouting
website has been updated with a great deal of supporting content. They
have also just posted a promotional video
directed at hams letting them know what it is and how to get involved.
Right on the heels of School Club Roundup
during the preceding
weekdays, JOTA is a great opportunity to introduce ham radio to kids
and young adults. (Thanks, National Jamboree on the Air Organizer, Jim
K5ND )
From the AMSAT News Service bulletin ANS-260
comes an article that
discusses how CubeSats have captured the attention of space agencies
and universities world-wide due to the significant amount of science
that can now be packed aboard.
If you sometimes use paper to log contest contacts, Charlie KX7L
reports, "For turning old paper logs into ADIF, I've used something
called Fast Log Entry (FLE) by DF3CB. It's very
simple. You enter the date, mode and band once and they stay the same
for subsequent QSOs until you change it. Then just enter time and call
for each QSO. You don't even need to enter the whole four digits of
time, just the minutes will do if that's all that changed. It's free
and simple. ADIF2CABR
, by SP7DQR looks
pretty good (converting ADIF to Cabrillo format). You can pick which
ADIF fields get converted into the Sent and Received exchanges. If you
enter the received mult as a comment in FLE (enter '#' after the call,
then the comment) then you can tell ADIF2CABR to use the CMT field."
Web Site of the Week - Stanford Magazine recently featured a great
article, "Members Make Waves
",
about the W6YX club, perched high in the hills above the Palo Alto
campus. In an interview, the club's current trustee, Dave W6NL,
recounts some of the club's history which includes famous names like
Packard, Villard, and Terman. (Thanks, Steve K6AW and Bob N6TV)
WORD TO THE WISE
3830 - what is this 3830 business, anyway? Before the web, there was 75
meters. After the contest participants would gather near 3830 kHz to
exchange scores, excuses, and embellishments. The collected scores
would then wend their way through the contest community by various
media. An email reflector named "3830" was created by Trey N5KO (then
WN4KKN) in the early-1990s, the name recognizing the over-the-air,
post-contest watering hole. A few years later, Bruce WA7BNM created a
claimed-score reporting website
that sent collected information to the email reflector and Dink N7WA
added the score compilations, completing the electronic claimed-score
posting system we all use today.
==> SIGHTS AND SOUNDS
One very interesting story of examples of how ham radio has proven to
be significant in technology and politics is this video story
of the Lithuanian revolt
and QSOs with the ham station in the parliament building that helped
keep the world informed. (Thanks, Dave W6NL)
The Van Allen Belts - regions of high-energy charged particles
trapped in the Earth's magnetic field - live up above the ionosphere.
Learn more about these interesting features of our planet's immediate
vicinity in this NASA Earth Observatory article
.
Things get a little scary around the 1-minute mark in this controlled
demolition video of a
tower being dropped in place. Just before the 2-minute mark, watch the
antenna at the top waving "bye-bye"! (Thanks, Tim K3LR)
==> RESULTS AND RECORDS
2011 ARRL EME Contest certificates went out the door recently. CW
Sweepstakes certificates will be following them today (Wednesday) and
Phone Sweepstakes certificates shortly thereafter, just in time for
motivating you during this year's contests! You'll like the return of
the stickers including the new post-adjudication Clean Sweep stamp as
seen at right! Plaques will be shipping soon, too. (Thanks, ARRL
Contest Branch Manager, Sean KX9X)
The preliminary results for the September CW Sprint
are now posted online.
Congratulations to Trey N5KO on another victory. (Thanks, CW Sprint
Manager, Tree N6TR)
Results for the 2011 running of the Arizona Statehood QSO Party
are now online for your viewing pleasure.
Plaques and certificates will be following shortly!
The 16th Amateur Radio Direction Finding World Championships
were recently held in Serbia. The USA team really stepped up this time,
bringing home 13 medals, including the first-ever American gold medals!
ARDF, quite popular around the world, has been attracting more and more
attention stateside - watch for more ARDF action in your area or help
your club sponsor an event!
OPERATING TIP
Contest Elbow - that painful outcome of resting your arm on the elbow
while you tune the radio for a long contest. Veteran of many hours at
the rig, Ken K6LA/VY2TT suggests, "The best solution for forearm
soreness problems is football elbow pads. I cut the cloth lengthwise
and add Velcro straps across the pads to keep them on but loose enough
to be comfortable." Game on!
==> TECHNICAL TOPICS AND INFORMATION
As the fall contest season continues to ramp up to full intensity,
there has been lots of discussion about table height for contesting.
Most tabletops are placed 29-31 inches from the floor but always seem
just a little "too" one way or the other. The solution may lie right
under you - in an adjustable chair. A small footrest can go a long way
towards improving operator comfort as well. Gary K9GS identified an
alternate solution, "You can buy very heavy duty adjustable leveling
feet that will give you several inches of adjustment. Again Google is
your friend but you can probably start with Rockler
, Woodcraft , or Lee Valley
to find what you need." Jim K8MR has
"...installed a slide-out keyboard shelf which rests the keyboard 24
inches above the floor. This works out to be almost literally in my
lap." He also suggests, "Use a chair without arms, or at least a chair
wide enough that you can drop your arms by your side without using the
arm rests. It is much more relaxing...(and)...your wrists will not be
bending sideways. Have enough extra cables on your radios that you can
slide them to the very front edge of desk. With this, there is only an
inch or two of forward motion required to move between the keyboard and
the radio...(or)...radios can also be shoved back to a more
conventional position, with your arms resting on the desktop. Change of
position is always a good thing." He also notes that armless chairs
help you stay awake!
Many counties provide the National Electrical Code (NEC) as a
downloadable PDF file such as this 2008 version
,
since it is written into their inspection code requirements. (Thanks,
Steve W3AHL)
A tale of telephone RFI on 10 meters from Eddy VE3CUI/VE3XZ recounts
his amazement of discovering that "the coiled handset cord while I was
seated was immune to RFI but as soon as it was outstretched, it must
have acted like a resonant (antenna) on 10 meters!" It just goes to
show that anything can act as an antenna - either receiving or
transmitting!
The graphic at right shows a method of draining charge from an
antenna while also providing some protection against high voltages from
static electricity. The basic idea is presented on the K2AV Folded
Counterpoise antenna website.
The value of the 5-Mohm resistor is not critical and just needs to be
high enough to minimize its effect on antenna impedance while surviving
normal operation. Power ratings of 2 watts or better are generally
recommended in this application. The spark plug can be mounted directly
to a grounded plate, as well.
Based on some reasonable assumptions about converting materials into
cost-per-dB, Tom W8JI came up with a reasonable order of progression
for low-band station builders:
- A good TX omni antenna
- Good basic RX antennas that fit your location
- An amplifier
- Better RX antennas or bigger amp, depending on your results at this
stage
- After the legal power limit is reached and if people still have
problems hearing you, only then comes transmitting antenna gain
Dave K6LL reminds us of a method
for testing coax loss even with an antenna connected. It takes
advantage of an antenna's likelihood of presenting a high-impedance at
some out-of-band frequency to act as a nearly open circuit. Dave
presents a formula for converting the resulting SWR into line loss. The
lower the SWR at the high-impedance frequency, the higher the loss.
Along with VE3CUI's discovery on transmitting RFI, Dale K9VUJ also
discovered that receiving RFI can be caused by anything. "I myself a
few years ago had a random sporadic noise, crackling and very strong
especially on the lower bands. One day I had the receiver volume turned
up so I could hear it in another room and while I was walking though
the kitchen I heard the "crackle crackle" while I walked. I went to the
basement and started looking all around. What I found was the metal
wire that is used to hang suspended ceiling tile was barely touching a
metal electrical conduit above the tile and any amount of vibration
would cause static in the radio."
The round "flip-top" containers for chewing gum lozenges make great
small-parts holders for toolboxes and on the workbench. The labels peel
right off so you can easily see what's inside and the small flip-up
hatch makes it easy to get out one part at a time.
What is the worst radio location in the world? Well, it's not actually
on this world, according to the Popular Science
article "Satellite Radio" in the October 2012
issue. The worst place turns out to be on the dark side of the Moon but
the noise floor is really, really low!
Technical Web Site of the Week - 3D printing is a technology that is
going to be increasingly common in ham radio as evidenced by this
Makezine review
of 15 different consumer-grade 3D printers. Consider that just a few
years ago, these were high-end industrial products costing five figures
and up. Now we have "consumer grade" and more than a dozen available
plus online plans for building your own. (Photo of Charlotte hamfest)
==> CONVERSATION
Lowering the Broom
Not to mix a metaphor or anything but there is a lot of low-hanging
fruit to be swept up in this year's ARRL November Sweepstakes
. The contest's manager, Larry Hammel
K5OT observes that we will "be surprised at the number of opportunities
that exist in both modes on the all-time records list
!" Of course, there are the four
new Ontario sections to push the top scores up by three more
multipliers - a built-in bonus of nearly four percent!
The two new Low-Power categories added in 2011 still have 111
section-level records unclaimed in Multi-op, Low Power and 54 in
Unlimited, Low Power. (That includes both Phone and CW.) Where there is
really a lot of opportunity is in the School Club category. At the
section level, there are 49 CW records for which an entry has never
even been submitted and 31 on Phone! Don't you have a high-school or
college club nearby that might like to claim a record of their own?
Even if the club is not formally organized, the multi-operator
categories are wide open.
Larry has done quite a bit of review in the Sweepstakes records and
you'll see a more extensive article by him in the upcoming issue of the
National Contest Journal . In the meantime, a visit
to the online records would certainly be in order, don't you think?
Speaking of those clubs, you have some great opportunities to
motivate some young radio aficionados with the School Club Roundup
on October 15-19 that is
followed by Jamboree On The Air (JOTA).
Invite some of these potential hams to your shack for a few hours of
radio time and see if a few of them might not like to put in a few
hours during Sweepstakes. A challenge with another local group is a
good motivator, too! I also recommend a post-contest pizza party.
For personal efforts, shooting for a record is a great way to stay
engaged throughout the contest and fight off fatigue. Make an
hour-by-hour chart of your best effort, then add the record line and
see how close you can get this year. Maybe you'll be able to add your
own call sign to the list. A note to contest managers - if your club
sponsors a contest, be sure to keep your record list up to date. It
attracts participation and makes the results more interesting when you
can talk about new records being set.
The unique "clean sweep" of Sweepstakes multipliers has always been
represented by "the broom". Many a time, a station is one of the rarer
sections will hear "Thank for the sweep!" as a final section is logged
and checked off the list. The new clean sweep stickers are also being
added to Sweepstakes certificates this year - maybe you'll see one in
your mailbox soon? Why not hand out specially-decorated brooms to your
club's high achievers? It makes a great program event at the annual
holiday party!
Crossing off each section as you log them is one of contesting's great
traditions, whether you are computer logging or not. The list was
printed at the bottom of the paper entry forms - it was great to send
in a log with all sections marked off! The excitement of the new
Ontario sections, expectations for high-band activity, and a whole raft
of records within reach should have every broom-wielding clean sweep
mug chaser counting the days to the first and third weekends in
November. Let's lower our brooms to the noise floor and get to work!
73, Ward N0AX
==> CONTESTS
26 September through 9 October
An expanded, downloadable version of QST's Contest Corral in PDF format
is available. Check the
sponsor's Web site for information on operating time restrictions and
other instructions.
HF CONTESTS
SKCC Straight Key Sprint--CW from Sep 26, 0000Z to Sep 26, 0200Z.
Monthly on the 4th Wednesday UTC. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50. Exchange:
RST, QTH, name, SKCC nr or power. Logs due: 5 days. Rules
CQ WW RTTY Contest--Digital from Sep 29, 0000Z to Sep 30, 2400Z. Bands
(MHz): 3.5-28. Exchange: RST, CQ zone and State/VE area (US/VE). Logs
due: Nov 1. Rules
Texas QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital from Sep 29, 1400Z (multiple
operating periods, see website). Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50,144,
Frequencies (MHz): CW--20 to 50 kHz above band edge; Phone--25 kHz
above edge of General segment. Exchange: RS(T), county or S/P/C. Logs
due: Oct 31. Rules
ARS Spartan Sprint--CW from Oct 2, 0200Z to Oct 2, 0400Z. Monthly on
the first Monday evening local time. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. Exchange:
RST, S/P/C, and power. Logs due: 2 days. Rules
OK1WC Memorial Contest--Phone,CW from Oct 2, 1600Z (see website). First
through fourth Monday of each month. Bands (MHz): 3.5, 50, 144, see
website for bands. Exchange: RS(T) and serial. Logs due: 7 days. Rules
http://www.hamradio.cz/ok1wc
SNS and NS Weekly Sprints--CW,Digital from Oct 5, 0200Z to Oct 5,
0300Z. Weekly on Thursday evenings local time. Bands (MHz): 1.8-14.
Exchange: Serial, name, and S/P/C. Logs due: 2 days. Rules
DX/NA YLRL Anniversary Party--Phone,CW,Digital from Oct 5, 1400Z to Oct
7, 0200Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28. Exchange: Serial, RST, and
section/province/country. Logs due: 30 days. Rules
PSK Rumble - The Fall Classic--Digital from Oct 6, 0000Z to Oct 6,
2400Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50. Exchange: Name and call area (see
website). Logs due: Oct 31. Rules
Worked All Provinces of China--Phone,CW from Oct 6, 0000Z to Oct 6,
2359Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. Exchange: RS(T) and serial or province
abbreviation. Logs due: Oct 31. Rules
EPC Russia DX Contest--Digital from Oct 6, 0400Z to Oct 7, 0359Z. Bands
(MHz): 1.8-28. Exchange: EPC member nr or serial and grid square. Logs
due: Oct 22. Rules
Oceania DX Phone Contest--Phone from Oct 6, 0800Z to Oct 7, 0800Z.
Bands (MHz): 1.8-28. Exchange: RS and serial. Logs due: Nov 7. Rules
Worked All Britain HF Contest--Phone from Oct 6, 1200Z to Oct 7, 1200Z.
Bands (MHz): 14-28. Exchange: RS, serial, DXCC entity or WAB area. Logs
due: Oct 28. Rules
California QSO Party--Phone,CW from Oct 6, 1600Z to Oct 7, 2200Z. Bands
(MHz): 1.8-28, 50,144. Exchange: Serial and state/prov/"DX" or CA
county. Logs due: Oct 31. Rules
EU Autumn Sprint--Phone from Oct 6, 1600Z to Oct 6, 1959Z. Bands (MHz):
3.5-14. Exchange: Both call signs, serial, name. Logs due: 15 days.
Rules
RSGB 21/28 MHz Contest--Phone,CW from Oct 7, 0700Z to Oct 7, 1900Z.
Bands (MHz): 21,28. Exchange: Serial and UK district. Logs due: Oct 22.
Rules
VHF+ CONTESTS
ARRL EME Contest--Phone,CW,Digital from Oct 6, 0000Z to Oct 7, 2359Z.
Bands (MHz): 2.3G+. Exchange: Call signs, sig rpt, acknowledgement.
Logs due: Jan 1. Rules
902 MHz Fall VHF Sprint--Phone,CW,Digital from Sep 29, 7 AM to Sep 29,
1 PM. Bands (MHz): 902+. Exchange: 6-character grid locator. Logs due:
4 weeks. Rules
432 MHz Fall VHF Sprint--Phone,CW,Digital from Oct 3, 7 PM to Oct 3, 11
PM. Bands (MHz): 432. Exchange: 4-character grid square. Logs due: 4
weeks. Rules
Texas QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital from Sep 29, 1400Z (multiple
operating periods, see website). Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50,144,
Frequencies (MHz): CW--20 to 50 kHz above band edge; Phone--25 kHz
above edge of General segment. Exchange: RS(T), county or S/P/C. Logs
due: Oct 31. Rules
OK1WC Memorial Contest--Phone,CW from Oct 2, 1600Z (see website). First
through fourth Monday of each month. Bands (MHz): 3.5, 50, 144, see
website for bands. Exchange: RS(T) and serial. Logs due: 7 days. Rules
PSK Rumble - The Fall Classic--Digital from Oct 6, 0000Z to Oct 6,
2400Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50. Exchange: Name and call area (see
website). Logs due: Oct 31. Rules
California QSO Party--Phone,CW from Oct 6, 1600Z to Oct 7, 2200Z. Bands
(MHz): 1.8-28, 50,144. Exchange: Serial and state/prov/"DX" or CA
county. Logs due: Oct 31. Rules
==> LOG DUE DATES
26 September through 9 October
- September 29, 2012 Ohio State Parks on the Air
- September 30, 2012 AGCW Straight Key Party
- September 30, 2012 IARU Region 1 Field Day, SSB (see society
websites)
- September 30, 2012 Brazil Independence Day BPSK31 CDX Contest
- September 30, 2012 Scandinavian Activity Contest, CW
- October 1, 2012 Colorado QSO Party
- October 1, 2012 Kansas QSO Party
- October 1, 2012 SARL VHF/UHF Analogue/Digital Contest
- October 1, 2012 Russian RTTY WW Contest
- October 1, 2012 Hawaii QSO Party
- October 1, 2012 CIS DX QPSK63 Contest
- October 3, 2012 Tennessee QSO Party
- October 4, 2012 MI QRP Labor Day CW Sprint
- October 6, 2012 FOC QSO Party
- October 7, 2012 WAB 144 MHz QRO Phone
- October 8, 2012 AGCW VHF/UHF Contest
- October 8, 2012 QCWA Fall QSO Party
- October 9, 2012 G3ZQS Memorial Straight Key Contest
==> ARRL INFORMATION
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==> ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ARRL Contest Update wishes to acknowledge information from WA7BNM's
Contest Calendar and SM3CER's
Contest Calendar .
The ARRL Contest Update is published every other Wednesday (26 times
each year). ARRL members may subscribe at no cost or unsubscribe by
editing their Member Data Page as described at
http://www.arrl.org/contests/update/.
Copyright (c) 2012 American Radio Relay League, Inc. All
Rights Reserved
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Address all comments and questions to the editor as described in this
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